Gainsborough Striders take part in Boston Marathon

Runners were raring to go having being denied the opportunity to race for many months, among them were Jordan Skelly and Jonathan Chapman who took on the marathon, with Jayne & Simon Hunt opting to run the half.

Jordan Skelly wasted no time in showing what he could do as he romped home in second place, in the astonishing time of 2:25:02.

Skelly's time also shattered the previous club record of 2:36:29 set by Brian Vollentine at the Berlin Marathon in 1987, before Skelly had even been born. Vollentine's record was considered so good that many in the club never believed that they would see it beaten.

Equally as delighted was Jonathan Chapman as he produced a sterling effort to take a 40 minute chunk off his previous personal best, and break the four hour barrier for the first time as he finished in the time of 3:55:35. Over the half distance Jayne Hunt assisted by her husband Simon broke the two hour mark for the first time, and took nine minutes off her personal best as they finished together in 1:50:58.

On the Saturday Hanna Bennett and Nigel Bowler travelled to Northumberland to take on the Endurance Life Coastal Ultra Marathon, a 36.7 mile off road race. The route boasted some of the most dramatic coastal scenery in the country and views offered by two National Nature Reserves. Bowler was first of the duo to finish, in the time of 6:04:43. Bennett wasn't far behind as she came home in 6:37:43.

As of yet parkrun has been unable to return in the UK, the provisional date for the restart is June 26th. Gainsborough parkrun will be in need volunteers in order to go ahead, more information can be found at https://www.parkrun.org.uk/gainsborough/

The club's training sessions are back on Tuesday and Thursday evenings from Roses Playing Fields, members will still need to book a place and new members are welcome. More information can be found on the club's facebook group.